


The Avatar Conundrum

by R_Black



Series: Mighty Nein - ATLA AU [1]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Comedy, Don't Worry About It, Fluff and Humor, Gen, I'm only putting it at Teen and Up due to the adult language (mostly from Beau), I'm really pushing how much bending can do, Last airbender au, Slight mentions of anxiety attack, dubious bending abilities and science, is mystery~, molly and caduceus at the same time because I said so, someone in the Nein is the Avatar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:00:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 19,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24796582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/R_Black/pseuds/R_Black
Summary: Airbending Master Essek has been tasked to teach the Avatar airbending, and the Avatar's group--the Mighty Nein--is also willing to learn some techniques, despite most of them not being airbenders. The only problem? No one outside of the Nein knows which of the members is the Avatar...
Series: Mighty Nein - ATLA AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1841953
Comments: 99
Kudos: 401





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Ah yes, that's right. I am also jumping on this bandwagon. But I'm hoping this little mystery twist will keep you all interested ;3

Essek floated into the throne room of the Kryn Air Temple, face neutral and posture stiff. His queen had summoned him personally for reasons he had yet to fathom, and he racked his brain for anything he’d recently done wrong.

Unlike other nations, the Air Nomads technically had no royalty. Each air temple was autonomous, and therefore had different leaders, though each one met in a conclave every few years. The Kryn Air Temple had its queen, a fairly young-looking Drow woman named Leylas, but she was technically not _royalty_ by the world’s standards. She ruled the temple with patience and respect, not riches and birthright. She was even known to play pranks on her subordinates, so her sense of humor could often come into play if one of the temple’s acolytes had gotten themselves in trouble.

However, Essek had never exactly played pranks as a child, and he _certainly_ wasn’t one to do so as an adult. He didn’t think himself better than others, nor more mature for it, rather he felt it was not fun for him. He didn’t see the appeal in hurling pies at meditators with one’s bending.

So, he was _extremely cautious_ about this sudden meeting with Leylas. He could only assume he was in some sort of trouble; All he had to do was figure out _what_ he’d done to earn her ire.

“Master Essek,” Leylas greeted as he approached. “Thank you for coming.”

A quick glance around the large chamber told Essek that no other masters were present. He let out a shaky breath. “Have I…done something, Master Leylas?”

The queen chuckled. “No, no. Not at all. I called you here because I received a message from one of the other temples. The Avatar is coming here to learn airbending.”

Essek blinked. “Really? They chose our temple?”

“We’ve no idea why, of course, but still it is a high honor indeed! We haven’t had an Avatar train here since the last fire cycle!”

“So this means the identity of the Avatar has finally been revealed?” Essek asked carefully. “Did the other temple say who it was?”

“That’s where the problem lies.” The queen sighed, clearly annoyed. “Apparently, they travel with a group called the Mighty Nein. And the troupe is so…” she paused, her nose wrinkling in thought. “…so _unique_ in their bending that no one has been able to identify which is the Avatar.”

“But the Avatar _is_ among them?”

“Of that we are certain. Other stories and rumors coincide with the Nein’s adventures. The only variable is the identity of the Avatar. In some places, people claim it’s one of the humans. In others, they claim it’s the Half-Orc. And the temple they were just in had a theory it could be the Aasimar woman. Truly, this Avatar is an enigma from day one.”

Essek hummed in thought. “Am I to observe the group, then? Figure out who the Avatar could be?”

“Oh, yes. You will be doing that.” Leylas smiled, a teasing glint in her eye. “You can do that as you train them in airbending.”

Essek almost lost control of his floating at the mention. “ _All_ of them? How can I teach all of them airbending if only one of them is the Avatar?”

“One may be the Avatar, but I’ve reason to believe at least two of them are natural-born airbenders. And who knows? Maybe the others could benefit from meditation or breathing techniques. Inner peace is not restricted to Air Nomads, after all.”

Once again, she was right. Essek bowed his head respectfully. “Then it will be an honor to teach the… _Mighty Nein_ …airbending.”

* * *

One week later, the Mighty Nein arrived. Their very presence was loud and obnoxious, even though at least three of their members were going out of their way to be quiet. The tallest of them was a pale Firbolg with a shock of pink hair in a long undercut, while the smallest was a goblin woman in a sparkling yellow dress. Of course, the loudest of them all was a purple Tiefling with clothing pieces hailing from all four nations in a barrage of colors that could only be called ostentatious. His horns were pierced and ringed, tattoos littered his skin as much as little pale scars.

Essek’s gaze was drawn to one of the two humans—the man with fiery hair. He was ironically attracting more attention by being the quietest of the troupe. He seemed to curl into himself, eyes shifting suspiciously at anyone that came near. The goblin was at his side talking loudly at him.

A second Tiefling, this one bright blue, skipped around the group like a kid in a candy store. Her skirts billowed around her, as if she were bending _them_ and not the air around them. She kept tripping up the Half-Orc, as well as the other human. They were all chatting and making friendly jabs at one another, remarking their surroundings as they walked.

Save for the fiery-haired man, the only quiet ones seemed to be the Firbolg and the Aasimar woman. Essek found it interesting that the two tallest members would be among the quietest, as if they took the phrase ‘gentle giant’ to heart. The Firbolg was planted in the center of the group, like he had invisible leashes attached to the rest of the troupe. The Aasimar was at the purple Tiefling’s side, smiling and chuckling at his boisterous antics.

So far, based upon first impressions, Essek could not immediately identify the Avatar among the group. Even an educated guess would be difficult.

Still, he was very curious. Although it wasn’t knowledge that would mean life or death, it would still be good to share his findings with his queen. That way, if the time came that the Avatar needed help, she would know who to aid.

“Welcome friends,” he greeted. He floated out of the shadows of the temple, effectively silencing (and startling) quite a few of them. “I am Master Essek. I have been assigned to act as your guardian and guide here at the Kryn Air Temple.”

“Oooh, are you going to give us a super special tour?” the blue Tiefling. “Do we get to have our own bison?” She squealed, which made Essek’s ears ring. “I WANT TO PICK ONE OUT NOW!”

The Half-Orc sighed and pulled her back. “Sorry about that. Jester is…really excited to play with the baby bison.”

Jester let out a battle cry at the prospect.

The Half-Orc introduced them all. He was named Fjord, the Firbolg was Caduceus, the humans were Caleb (the man) and Beau (the woman), the purple Tiefling was Mollymauk, the Aasimar was Yasha, and the Goblin was Nott. Essek nodded to each in turn.

“And which of you will be learning airbending?” he asked as they began moving throughout the temple grounds.

“We were hoping to all have lessons,” Caduceus said, his voice a pleasing baritone. “At least in some of the exercises.”

“Obviously we’re not _all_ airbenders,” Mollymauk said, arms behind his head. “But some of us are looking into expanding our move sets. Bend one element in a different way.”

“It is an interesting idea,” Essek admitted. “But not one pursued often. Elements are separate for a reason. Not every method works for every element.”

“Just like not every method works for every _person_ ,” Beau grumbled beside Fjord. “We’re different when it comes to learning shit.”

“Well, it’s always nice to have new students,” Essek noted.


	2. Caduceus Clay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Essek has a meditation session with Caduceus.

_Avatar Journal Entry #1: Caduceus Clay_

_I, Essek, Airbending Master, am currently investigating who among the group called the Mighty Nein is the Avatar. Rumors have spread far and wide of their exploits as a troupe, but the exact identity of the Avatar remains to be seen. Therefore, under loose orders of my queen, I am their observer as well as their airbending master._

_My first observation amongst the individuals is that of the Firbolg member, Caduceus Clay…_

* * *

Essek sat cross-legged on one of the verandas, eyes closed in quiet meditation. The only other soul up this early that didn’t belong to the temple was Caduceus. The Firbolg had seemed very happy to begin meditation lessons, being self-taught from his home in a swamp. His method was usually a pleasant silence, with the occasional hum of contentment.

Essek was happy to teach him the proper breathing technique of an airbender. He was also glad to have a student already so calm. Most amateurs would be twitchy, excitable, and distracted. Caduceus was none of those. He was the oldest of the Nein, being a young adult Firbolg, and he certainly acted like it with his calm demeanor and ability to diffuse a situation.

“Oh, hello there,” Caduceus suddenly said.

Essek opened one eye. Had one of the Nein decided to join them?

The Firbolg was holding his hand out, palm up. His ears were swiveled forward, eyes locked onto his hand. In a soothing voice, he said, “You are very pretty.”

“Pardon?” Essek asked.

“Yes, the sunrise is quite a sight from this high up. It must be nice to see it from your perspective all the time.”

It took Essek an embarrassingly long time to realize that Caduceus was speaking with a spirit. It was quite impressive that he could do it so easily on the first go.

“Ah, Caduceus…”

“Oh, where are my manners? I’m Caduceus, this is my friend Essek. Essek, this is…” He paused, ears twitching. Then, he held out his hand towards Essek. “This is Du Feng. She’s a Moth Wasp.”

Essek blinked. “Oh, um…I apologize. I am not exactly…well-versed in spiritual matters. Some airbending masters are better at spiritual connections than others, and I am not one of them. However, I am happy you are so in-tune with spirits already!”

Caduceus smiled. He didn’t seem too proud of himself, as if he expected to converse with a spirit so soon after staying inside the temple. “That’s nice. Glad you said something—I was beginning to think you were ignoring the nest on purpose.”

“Excuse me?”

“The Moth Wasp nest. The one you sit next to each morning. At first the spirits thought you were going to disturb them, but then they realized you were one of the better meditators. So, they left you alone.”

Caduceus’s knowing smile unsettled Essek a bit. The Drow shifted in his seat.

After a few moments of returning his breathing to normal, Essek muttered, “I see. Well, to them I say…thank you for allowing me the privilege of meditating in their space.”

“They say you’re welcome.”

The two fell into a more comfortable silence after that. Sometimes, Essek could hear Caduceus’s ears flick in acknowledgement to something possibly being said by a spirit, but he spoke no more about them. Once the sun was fully up and the rest of the temple was bustling with activity did the two begin stretching back out.

“In case you’re wondering,” Caduceus said languidly. “It’s not me.”

Essek didn’t say anything as he limbered up, though the question to continue hung in the air.

“I’m not the Avatar,” the Firbolg confirmed. “Just a humble waterbender. Or, actually, swampbender. I bend the water in plants and such, to nudge them along. Watch.”

With a graceful wave of his hand, Caduceus suddenly created a surge of growth in the grass beneath them. The grass swayed with his breathing, moving in more of a wave of growth and shrinkage than if an earthbender had decided to move the ground below it.

“I’ve heard airbenders have the best breathing techniques,” Caduceus continued. “I’d love to learn about it, if only to help connect better with how nature herself breathes.”

“Then we can certainly help with that,” Essek promised. “And…you’re _sure_ you are not the Avatar? With such a powerful connection to spirits, you’d certainly make a good bridge.”

The Firbolg’s smile widened a little. “Nah, I think I’d be terrible at firebending. Too hot for me, personally.”

* * *

_I have found that Caduceus Clay is merely a waterbender and nothing more. He’s extremely astute in matters concerning the spirit, which is more than I can say for myself and a few other masters I know. However, he has come out and said personally that he is not the Avatar._

_The most annoying thing about this is that he will not tell me who the Avatar is. Not for lack of trust, mind you…he is just finding it very amusing. If he is one of the quieter members, I cannot fathom what I have gotten myself into…_


	3. Beauregard Lionett

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Essek watches Beau and Nott scuffle.

_Essek Avatar Log Entry #2 – Beauregard Lionett_

_While Caduceus has turned out not to be the Avatar, it does not deter me from observing the others. It’s been a few days, now, and I can say with 80% certainty that the human woman, Beauregard, is actually a non-bender. The percentile would be higher, except…_

* * *

“Nott, you _bitch_ , gimme back my staff!”

Essek watched with mild amusement how Beau and Nott wove around a group of airbenders practicing some Tai Chi. While Nott was able to avoid all of the benders, Beau had to knock a few over as she went. A few curses were sent her way for it, but she was too busy cursing at Nott to care.

The goblin woman in question was quickly gaining ground, avoiding Beau’s attempts to hurl loose stones at her by hand. She stuck her tongue out between her crooked and sharp teeth. “You gotta catch me first!”

A small stone managed to deck Nott in the face as she tried to return her head forward. She screeched in pain and tripped. The staff went clattering to the ground.

Beau tried to leap over Nott, but the goblin grabbed her by the ankle and sent the human to the ground with her. Essek couldn’t help but smile at the sight of both women wrestling over the wooden staff just inches away. After a few minutes, Beau had Nott pinned belly-down.

Within moments, Beau slammed Nott’s face into the dirt. “ _Eat it! Eat it!”_

Nott screamed into the ground, her limbs flailing.

“Why’d you take my staff?” Beau demanded. She lifted Nott’s head up a little so she could answer.

After a moment of spitting out dirt, Nott answered, “I needed it! None of the airbender staffs are long enough!”

“What could you _possibly_ need it for?”

“HAVE YOU _SEEN_ THE SIZE OF THAT DAMN BEEHIVE NEXT TO CALEB’S WINDOW?”

Beau paused, face scrunched in confusion. Then, she gave an offended roar and slammed Nott’s face back down. “You _IDIOT_! I’M NOT LETTING YOU USE MY STAFF AS A BEEHIVE SMACKER!”

Essek was about to attempt to pull the women apart—or at the very least find Caduceus to diffuse the situation—when, without warning, the ground began to shake. The airbenders nearby began to lose their balance, some falling flat on their butts. Essek was spared this fate mostly because he was floating.

Nott’s hands slapped the ground once. Twice. Three times. The earth quaked and then rose drastically into the air. Nott made her legs sink into the earth before sending the chunk spiraling. Beau flew off after a few violent spins, but she landed gracefully on all-fours, sliding from the momentum.

Nott stopped her chunk of Earth and rose up to a standing position. Her feet were still stuck in the ground. She gave a devious laugh, then punched the air once.

The ground beneath staff rose up in a pillar, and the weapon was sent hurtling towards the goblin. She caught it without much fanfare.

“C’mon, Beau!” she called. “Lemme use it! I promise I won’t break it too badly!”

Beau growled, “Dream on! Give it back, bitch!”

Nott shrugged. “Then I have no choice.”

She freed one foot and stomped it back down. Three small chunks fell out of the hovering boulder on which she stood. With a bit of jerky movement thanks to handling the staff, Nott bent the smaller chunks towards Beau. They flew with breakneck speed.

Essek was about to bend the air to save the woman when Beau took a defensive stance and closed her eyes. Curious, Essek refrained from moving.

Time suddenly stood still. Essek would have missed it if he blinked.

Beau’s body moved at a speed unmatched by any in the temple. With one deft movement, she dodged the first chunk as if she were floating on air. In the same breath, she spun and kicked the second away to the ground. As the third chunk neared, she exhaled and opened her eyes. She forced her palms outward, caught the chunk, spun on one foot—still looking as if she were floating—and then sent the chunk of rock right back where it came from. The rock had a bit of a spin to it, as well, curving in its arc towards Nott.

Nott had no time to react. She managed to screech in alarm before the chunk slammed into her midsection. Wind knocked out of her, the goblin flew backwards and fell to the ground with a crash. The large bolder she had been perched on suddenly dropped, thankfully nowhere near her or anyone else.

When the dust of both goblin and bolder crashing had settled, Essek saw Nott was laying flat on her back with the staff held out in one hand. Her eyes were rolling wildly, mouth open in a groan.

Beau calmly strode over and took the staff from Nott’s outstretched hand. Then, she whacked the chunk of rock still pinning the stunned Nott to the ground. The rock split into two, falling harmlessly to either side of Nott.

Beau gave a haughty smirk. “Don’t fuckin’ touch my stuff, Nott.”

As she walked away, staff casually flung onto one shoulder, Nott squeaked, “N-Noted…”

* * *

_Perhaps it is just that Beau has studied under the Cobalt Soul monks and thus has amazing focus we Air Nomads can only dream of. Or perhaps she actually can bend and chooses not to. I’m honestly afraid to ask at this point in time…mostly because if I ask the wrong way I’m sure she will send me flying in a way airbenders should never fly._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am going camping starting basically now, so the next update won't be at least for 10 days. I hope you all are enjoying this so far, though! I know I am!


	4. Fjord Stone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Essek finds Fjord attempting to meditate with Beau being very unhelpful nearby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I lied, I totally forgot the campgrounds had spotty internet. So, enjoy this as a surprise~

_Essek Avatar Log Entry #3 – Fjord Stone (Tough?)_

_Beauregard’s bending abilities or lack thereof notwithstanding, the remaining members of the Nein seem to be true benders. Most of them have been present for my lessons in basic airbending, with a few exceptions for what they call personal reasons. It is not as though some are skipping all of the lessons—only a few, and usually sporadically. For example, the Half-Orc, Fjord, who usually has perfect attendance, did not show up to my class on Be the Leaf today, so I went to find him with Beau…_

* * *

While Essek could not possibly fathom where Fjord could have gone, Beau somehow had made a beeline straight for him. She was a little bruised from her time in the windmill maze, but otherwise had one of the best times, almost beating a record he had set himself. For a _supposed_ non-bender, Essek had to admit that he was very impressed at her acrobatic abilities.

Beau led him to a small clearing in the nearby woods. In it sat Caduceus and Fjord, the former peacefully meditating and the latter clearly not having as easy a time. Sweat beaded on the Half-Orc’s brow, his face scrunched in concentration, something Essek had seen on many young airbending children trying too hard to meditate.

Beau stomped forward in false anger, a smirk twitching her mouth upward. Caduceus’s ears pricked in acknowledgement, but he otherwise stayed silent. Fjord opened his eyes immediately with a disgruntled sigh.

“Beau,” he greeted with a gruff tone. “Kinda in the middle of somethin’ here.”

Beau bopped him on the head with her staff. “Yeah? You missed out on Be the Leaf. Caleb faceplanted in, like, ten seconds flat. I was kinda hoping to see you do the same but in five seconds.”

“Gosh, that sounds super fun,” Fjord remarked. “But Caduceus said he was gonna meditate and I figured I’d join him instead.”

The Firbolg in question merely said, “This morning felt particularly peaceful. Mother Nature certainly is proud of Herself today. I wanted to share in that peace.”

“And I am trying to get in touch with my more natural side,” Fjord said lamely. “Caduceus has been helping me with that.”

“C’mon, man,” Beau grumbled. “I was so excited to see you fall on your ass. Caduceus, too.”

Caduceus chuckled. “Yeah, I know I’m gonna fall.”

Essek cleared his throat. “I wouldn’t be against a later lesson for you two if you wish. Next time just send word that you’ll be meditating, and I will plan accordingly.”

Caduceus smiled. “Will do.”

Fjord nodded.

Beau huffed, waving her hand at a fly buzzing by her. “How do you guys even do this out here? I can’t clear my mind unless I’m knocked out. Especially if there’s a bunch of bugs and shit buzzing around me.”

“It takes practice,” Caduceus said before Essek could. “And Mr. Fjord has expressed interest in practicing my method of communing with nature.”

“Gross.”

“Is there anything else you wanted,” Fjord grumbled, his eyes screwed tight in an attempt to block her out. “’Cuz I wanted to, you know, _enjoy_ nature a little before getting my ass kicked by bee leaves or whatever.”

Beau kicked a small stone up like a shuttlecock, flipped it into the air and smacked it. It hit Fjord square in the forehead. He toppled backwards with an unmanly yelp.

Beau laughed out loud. Caduceus chuckled, even though his eyes were still closed.

“There,” Beau crowed. “Now you can enjoy nature up close.”

She spun on her heel to leave it at that. Essek was about to ask if she intended to apologize later when the ground suddenly rumbled. Beau planted her feet to prevent herself from toppling over. Caduceus steadied himself with a hand. Essek wondered if Nott was nearby.

Then, without warning, a rift opened up beneath Beau. Before she had time to react, she fell into the crevice and got stuck, only her head and the top of her hands staying above the crack. She cursed.

Fjord chuckled as he righted himself. “Thanks. I got so close with nature I wanted to make sure you did, too.”

Essek tilted his head in amusement. So, Fjord was an earthbender, too?

Then, Fjord heaved himself into a standing position and dove into a lunge, his arms windmilling slowly. The dew on the grass around them—at least from the grass still in shadow—lifted into the air and coalesced into a single blob of water. It gradually floated through the air until it was right above Beau.

“Don’t you fucking dare,” Beau growled.

Fjord smiled evilly. Then, he dropped his arms, effectively releasing his grip on the water. The blob fell unceremoniously onto the woman. Beau sputtered and coughed, struggling in the crevice.

“I’m gonna fucking push you into the windmills,” Beau threatened. “And then shove you up a bison’s ass.”

“And I don’t doubt it,” the Half-Orc said. He then began to sit down. “But until then, I’m gonna return to my meditation. Caduceus, you don’t mind the extra noise?”

Caduceus chuckled. “Nah. Think of it like an exercise in focus. If you can clear your mind with Beau around, you’ll be super good at it when it’s just nature speaking to you.”

Beau started thrashing in her trap. “Caduceus, really? You won’t even fucking _try_ to go get Nott?”

Essek floated over to the duo on the ground. “If you’re going to meditate, would you mind if I joined you?”

“Y-You?” Fjord sputtered. “I didn’t take you for a… _nature_ guy?”

Essek gave a small laugh as he crossed his legs and sat down, still hovering a few inches off the ground. He caught Fjord’s meaning, pointedly ignoring Beau nearby. Just because he didn’t play pranks didn’t mean he didn’t _enjoy_ one. “Mr. Clay has expressed interest in my meditation methods. I figure this is a good opportunity to learn _his_ methods.”

Caduceus smiled. “Aw, that sounds great.”

So, the three of them conducted a lovely meditation session. The only noises around them were of a few birds fluttering, the wind shifting the plant life, and the curses of one stuck Beauregard.

* * *

_Fjord has proved to be a level-headed companion. While his spiritual and meditative abilities leave something to be desired, his bending abilities are quite powerful. I’m not entirely certain how the ground split beneath Beau, nor am I certain if it was Fjord or perhaps a hidden Nott. Perhaps it was a freak earthquake; that would explain how the earth did not close back up and trap Beau further as an earthbender would make it. Or perhaps Fjord_ is _the Avatar and has not learned how to harness the earth to its full potential. That would explain why he tries to get in touch with it through Caduceus’s methods, though I am unsure why he’d choose Mr. Clay over a natural earthbender like Nott._

 _Nott eventually was convinced to free Beauregard, for future reference. And Fjord ultimately had the worst time ever recorded in the Be the Leaf exercise. So, if he_ is _the Avatar, he will have a lot to learn when it comes to airbending._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A side note: While I'm still deciding on whether or not to include a more ATLA version of the Traveler (mostly for shits and giggles on Jester's side) I figured the Wildmother could be simplified down to just Mother Nature, for simplicity's sake. Caduceus is pretty much trying to make a hippy out of Fjord and there's nothin' wrong with that.


	5. Jester Lavorre

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Essek and Jester babysit some bison.

_Essek Avatar Log Entry #4 – Jester Lavorre_

_Now that I have been training and observing the Nein more, I have come to realize that Fjord was not the only bender among them that could appear to bend more than one element. And, unfortunately, with each member that shows promise in a second element, my sureness of the Avatar’s identity dwindles. Each member seems to have at least two elements they favor—such as Fjord favoring water and earth. Or, in Jester’s case…_

* * *

Essek had never seen someone so enthusiastic about meeting the air bison. The closest he could think of was children going out to bond with their bison for the first time. It had taken a week to clear a schedule with the bison keepers, as the babies had _just_ been weaned and the parents were still rather protective.

Once Jester had seen the stables, though, she might as well have teleported. She was a blue streak rushing straight for the babies. Essek hadn’t even had time to warn her that the mother was _right next to them_ , but Jester had such a way with her very being that she’d somehow wiggled her way to the center of the herd.

It only took three minutes for her to become a favorite visitor. The keepers had been so impressed that they even allowed her to babysit while they took a break. That duty was not given lightly, and Essek had never been granted that privilege

“Which one is yours?” Jester asked one day. She was tasked with babysitting duty while the keepers flew the parents around. Essek had joined her.

The Drow pointed to one of the adult bison nearby. It had a single earring on one of its ears. “That is my partner, Faolan.”

Jester squealed happily, squeezing one of the babies. “He’s so cute!” Then, she looked at the baby in her arms, then to the ones flipping around her. “Will I get to choose one?”

“Only airbenders—and the Avatar—may choose their bison,” Essek explained. “And even then, the bison must choose you back. The ones you’re watching today are almost old enough to choose.”

Jester brightened up. “But I’m _totally_ an airbender! Lookit!”

She set the baby on the ground before taking a deep breath and waggling her arms around. The air became a thin current, slicing through the atmosphere and lifting up the baby before it could try to fly itself. With amateurish movements, Jester sent the baby higher on its back, keeping it aloft as it floated around in circles. The other babies flew around it, intrigued. Then, one did a backflip and landed on the original bison, causing Jester to amend her stance and alter the air currents to include the new bison.

Within minutes, Jester was making the entire baby herd fly without them even moving their tails. Jester herself was floating a little on her own.

“Well…” Essek shed his outer cloak. “I suppose this means it’s time for a proper bending lesson. How about you try some of the breathing techniques I’ve taught you and your friends?”

For the next hour, Essek and Jester began to bend the larger air currents to help them both fly. The blue Tiefling was a fast learner, easily surpassing the basic wind manipulations and soaring higher than a usual airbender could go without a glider. Essek had to fetch his own just to keep up.

When she got high enough, Jester began to copy the bison’s tail movements, using her own as a rudder to maneuver better. Essek was very impressed at her ingenuity. Even he wasn’t as skilled at maneuvering, but perhaps it was all in the tail. He would have to see about adding some sort of rudder to his cloak, to give him a better edge in the air.

Then they flew over the edge of the lake with the babies. Their impromptu game of fly-tag had led them further out from their starting position than Essek had intended, and he was about to shout they return for the sake of the babies’ safety.

One of the babies suddenly mewled in exhaustion, dropping faster than either airbender could anticipate. If it hit the water, it would most certainly drown; it wasn’t old enough to learn how to swim!

Then, as Jester squeaked in alarm, she dove down to follow the baby bison. She managed to catch it long before they fell too far. Just before they hit the water, Jester’s tail shot downward and curled quickly back up. The water rippled—smoothly at first, then violently outward. As Jester descended with the baby in tow, her tail rotated faster and faster, downwards and sideways. The water rippled and then parted in a small circle to let them descend until Jester touched bottom. She spent maybe two seconds touching the ground before shooting right back into the air. As she ascended, the water splashed back into its original position, the ripples fading as she flew higher.

The bison baby grunted its thanks, licking Jester’s face. The other babies swarmed around Essek, mewling and bawling for his aid in staying afloat. He complied, helping them all fly back to the safety of the shore. Jester followed right behind.

When both benders and their charges finally landed, two enormous bison—the parents—touched down as well. One of them made a huge roar, calling for the babies to return. All of them did, except for one.

The one in Jester’s hands kept licking her face. Jester giggled, hugging the baby tight. “Aww, I love you, too!”

The mother bison padded over to Jester and sniffed the two of them. Then, she licked the Tiefling with her enormous tongue, effectively drenching her in saliva. Essek held back a laugh.

Jester had no such qualms about hiding her enjoyment. She giggled and patted the mother on the nose. “It was no problem,” she announced. “Everybody has trouble keeping up, and sometimes we go a little more than we should!”

The baby then snuggled deeply into Jester’s chest, giving its best purr. The mother grunted in approval, then walked back to her brood.

Essek floated over. “I do believe you have gotten your bison,” he remarked. “It seems as though it’s chosen you.”

Jester squealed and hugged both the bison and Essek, knocking the wind out of both of them. “This is so cool! I can’t wait to play with him more! Wait, is it a him?” She lifted the tail. “Yeah, him! He’s so _cute_ and _fluffy_! Oh my gosh I can’t wait ‘til he’s big and we can ride on him and fly together and he can totally stay in bed with me no matter _what_ size he is!”

Essek chuckled. “And what would you name him?”

Jester thought long and hard, her nose scrunched and tongue sticking out. Then, she grinned. “His name,” she declared. “Shall be Pickles!”

The newly-dubbed Pickles chirped in approval, then yawned.

* * *

_Once again, I am questioning whether what I saw was a powerful airbender or signs of two elements being bent together. The more I think about it or try to make sense of it, the more I question myself. With this group, it is very hard to stay certain of anything._

_Well, there are somethings I_ can _be certain of. How much Jester adores her new bison, Pickles, is one of those things. She takes him everywhere now, even to her more advanced airbending lessons. It is amusing to see him learn his own brand of airbending with his new partner._


	6. Mollymauk Tealeaf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Essek watches Molly tell stories to kids.

_Essek Avatar Log Entry #5 – Mollymauk Tealeaf_

_Ever since I began teaching actual airbending, I have come to realize only two members of the Nein are true airbenders: Jester and Yasha. Those two have been attending most of my lessons regardless, but the airbending requirement of my classes hasn’t stopped the others from attending. The human man, Caleb, is trying to master my movements even though he is a firebender—revealed to me by Jester. Some of the others still choose to skip my classes, like Caduceus and Fjord for their own meditation sessions, or Beau simply because she is bored with the way I teach. Mollymauk also skips classes, though he’s never exactly given me a reason why._

_Since today had particularly nice weather—and Jester was far too restless with her new baby bison, Pickles, to listen to anything I had to say—I decided to cancel the airbending lesson. I did ask Yasha where Molly was today since he’d attempted to skip. She led me right to him…_

* * *

Essek hadn’t expected Mollymauk to be in the main plaza next to the fountain, surrounded by literally every child in the temple. Yasha stopped just beyond the doorway the duo had exited, leaning against the wall with a soft smile on her face. Essek chose to hover on the other side of the frame.

The lavender Tiefling was every bit as energetic as his race sister, though their auras were wildly different. Where Jester was the living embodiment of childish glee and wonder, Molly was a circus show personified. His multi-colored outfit was only one of the many things to draw anyone’s attention, from the Air Nomad half-sleeves, to the Water Tribe sashes, to the Earth Kingdom’s pants, to the Fire Nation boots. His tattoos of snakes, peacock feathers, and various flowers were also eye-catching, as well as the various scars littering his torso. The various piercings, hoops, and baubles that adorned both his skin and horns shone in every light, sparkling like gemstones.

And _everything_ had a story.

“Oh this?” Molly asked, pointing to the peacock feather adorning his cheek. A child nodded in awe, their eyes huge. “I got this to commemorate my taming of the mighty _Peacock Dragon!_ ”

The children gasped in awe as Molly spun a tale about traveling with his old circus to the depths of a mysterious jungle, wherein a huge feathered serpent lived. The serpent was a majestic dragon worshipped by the tribes living in the jungle, and only the most worthy beings could tame and ride the beast.

So, of course, Molly had been brave enough to try. He’d gone right up to the feathered serpent and told it how beautiful it was with its multicolored feathers and scales. The dragon preened under the attention and was so distracted by his own vanity that Molly was able to jump onto its neck and hang on to the horns.

After an hour of thrashing and bucking, the serpent finally relented, and Molly was able to ride him no matter what. The dragon even gave him a kiss on the cheek—the very cheek where Molly put the peacock feather tattoo.

The children cheered and applauded. Molly bowed theatrically, tail swishing back and forth.

Essek clapped as well, unable to take the smile off his face. He knew the story of the feathered serpent was probably a lie, like most of the Tiefling’s stories, but it wasn’t hurting anyone.

“What about that one?” a little girl asked. She pointed at the peony patch encircling his elbow and part of the snake.

Molly paused a moment to look at it, then grinned. “Ah, one of my favorite stories! This one involves Yasha!”

He gestured to the large woman standing by Essek. The children oohed and aahed when Yasha casually crossed her arms and flexed her muscles.

Molly dropped down into a handstand. As he stretched out fully, he began weaving his new tale about Yasha collecting flowers and of Molly taking it upon himself to find the prettiest one for her collection.

As he spoke, Molly’s limbs moved languidly. He breathed deeply in between sentences, and that’s when Essek began to notice something. As the Tiefling breathed, the very air began to shimmer like a mirage in the desert. And as his limbs moved, so too did the fountain water—just barely, like when Jester had made the water ripple the other day before parting it. The only difference was that the ripples didn’t only extend outward; the very surface of the water moved in tandem with Molly.

Essek tried to examine this further, to make sense of it.

Molly finished his story with a huge flip, and the water spewed upwards when he landed. _That_ had to be on purpose.

One more question came—this time from Essek himself.

“And those?” he asked, gesturing to the scars. “I don’t believe you’ve told us how those came to be.”

Molly smirked. “Well…”

He took a small dagger from his belt and swiped it quickly across his bare arm. The blood that appeared from his wound suddenly spurt into an icy casing around the dagger.

The children screeched in awe.

Essek’s breath left him. _A bloodbender_. That was not what he expected, nor was it something he wished to tangle with. While the children circled Molly in wonder, Essek retreated back into the doorway and into the shadows of the hall.

Bloodbending was one of the most powerful forms of waterbending, and Essek was very afraid of Molly demonstrating it further. While he trusted the Tiefling not to use it on the children, he would now have to be extremely wary of Molly’s abilities—especially during a full moon.

Essek blinked. A full moon…It wasn’t anywhere near a full moon at the moment. If Essek remembered correctly, tonight’s moon would only be a waning crescent. He recalled reading that bloodbending was usually only possible during a full moon—unless the bender was extremely powerful. That certainly explained Molly’s indirect rippling of the fountain water, though Essek had no idea what had caused the air shimmering like that.

“He doesn’t control other people,” a soft voice said behind him.

Essek turned to face Yasha, who had joined him in the hall without him noticing. “What?”

“Molly,” she said. “He only uses bloodbending on himself. He really can’t bring himself to bend anyone else’s blood. He hates how that looks like puppeteering a person.”

“How can he bloodbend without a full moon?” Essek asked.

Yasha shrugged. “It’s just something he can do. I think it’s because he’s only bending his own blood. Or maybe he was just that powerful before…” She trailed off.

Essek tilted his head. “Before? Before what?”

“Nothing. It’s not my place to say.” She looked back through the doorway, watching Molly regale the children with more stories and tricks. “He’s been through a lot, most of which he doesn’t remember. You can’t really blame him for trying not to make others hurt the same way he might have.”

“Yes, I can agree with you there.” Essek sighed, his shoulders slumping. “But still, perhaps tell him to keep the bloodbending at a minimum here? There’s a reason it’s outlawed in most places, and I’d rather not have the children exposed to the negative side effects bloodbending could bring to our friend.”

Yasha nodded. “Sure, I can do that.”

They returned to the doorway. Molly made no more attempts to bloodbend for the children, as if sensing the risk of doing it on his own, though he did do some decent waterbending tricks with the fountain. The blood forgotten, Essek had to admit that Molly was a powerful waterbender. And a fantastic storyteller.

* * *

_The illegality of bloodbending notwithstanding, I cannot bring myself to fathom that any Avatar would be able to bend in such a way. Throughout history, the Avatar has been able to bend elements in their most powerful states, but none has ever been recorded to bloodbend. I have even gone back through the archives to make sure of this fact. If ever an Avatar was a powerful bloodbender, spirits help us all._

_Regardless, as much as I don’t want to think about the current Avatar being a bloodbender, I cannot overlook that Molly shows the same bending prowess as the others. Perhaps this is a Tiefling trait, being able to bend both water and air—or at least bending one element so much that the other bends with it. I don’t know when it became normal for me to think that bending more than one element was fine, but it occurs to me that it has been a while since I thought it strange. It also makes me wonder that perhaps the Avatar of this generation is not a single person…but many. I will have to study this phenomenon further, only if that truly is the case._


	7. Nott the Brave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Essek tries to keep Nott from drinking on temple grounds. It does not go well...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do apologize if some formatting looks terrible. I'm submitting this on mobile and sometimes things just....end up looking shitty

_Essek Avatar Log Entry #6 – Nott (Veth?) the Brave_

  
_My associates have all reminded me that the current Avatar should be of the Earth cycle. I have reminded them right back that sometimes an Avatar’s base element doesn’t show in their styles. There was an Air Avatar named Fu long, long ago that chose to bend earth more than air; he did it so much that everyone assumed the cycle had screwed up until he said otherwise._

_However, it is worth noting that in my observations, only one member of the Nein is a core earthbender: the goblin, Nott. She has been very clear that she prefers her earthbending methods to any other element’s movement styles. Once at Caleb’s request she attempted to bend a rock midair with a smoother, airbender approach. The result? It hit her in the face and she ended up spitting curses for an hour. That isn’t to say she hasn’t shown the same multi-element bending abilities as the others…_

* * *

Essek had never heard someone complain about lack of alcohol so much in his life. He had expected a little pushback concerning the temple rules about vegetarian meals and alcohol abstinence.

He hadn’t expected the largest pushback to come from the smallest member of the Nein.

Nott was very insistent that she drink alcohol at every chance she got. She even had a flask of never-ending booze. Unfortunately for her, that flask had been confiscated by Yasha the moment they were told of the restrictions of the temple: No consumption of alcohol on the temple grounds. Yasha then proceeded to give the disgusting flask to Essek, to be hidden in a location of his choosing until the Nein needed to leave.

The goblin was understandably furious, and her ire only increased as the days became weeks. Well within the Nein’s visit, Nott was at Essek’s side almost constantly, watching him. Observing his patterns, likely. Waiting to see her beloved flask. Essek was sure that she would be at his throat soon, so he took to locking his door at night and keeping an alarm up.

It was on the day that he couldn’t take the stress of the situation anymore that he decided to take the flask from its hiding spot and give it back to Yasha. He was sure the Aasimar woman would be a much harder target to steal from than him, given that she could easily grind the goblin into a pulp while Essek couldn’t do much except blow her away temporarily.

With a frazzled composure and almost desperate look in his eyes, Essek trekked across the temple grounds, looking for Yasha. The other temple residents proved to be no help in finding her, giving him outdated information at best. For a large and imposing woman, she was undoubtedly the hardest to locate. Even Nott was easier to find than her.

Speaking of Nott, almost immediately after exiting his private room, she was on his heels. She seemed to sense the presence of her beloved flask, too, as she kept a much closer perimeter around him. Her eyes gleamed like a predator’s gaze under her hood. Essek tried his best to hold back shivers.

It was when Essek was rounding the lake in his search that Nott made her move.

With a heavy stomp, Nott sent a wall of earth shooting upwards to block Essek’s path. He halted, exhaling shakily, then turned to face her with a withering expression.

“Nott,” he said with what he hoped was a calm voice. “Please don't ruin the lake shore. The ecosystem here is very delicate.”

The goblin woman glared at him. “You have my flask,” she growled. “I know you do. It's somewhere under your cloak today.”

Essek tried to keep his stoic façade up. “I've not taken it out,” he lied. “It's still secured away.”

“LIAR!” The earth shook a little. “I've been watching you! You've never looked this tense before, plus you're looking for Yasha! Nobody randomly looks for Yasha except Molly!” She paused, then added very quietly, “And maybe Beau, but that doesn't count.”

“You're mistaken.” Essek tried to float around the wall, but the earth shook again as another wall blocked his exit. A third wall rose up as well, leaving him in a dead end with the exit facing Nott. From where he was hovering, he could see water lapping around her feet. She jumped slightly at the liquid, but it receded quickly.

“Gimme my flask,” she snarled. “I haven't had a drink in weeks and I'm about to lose my mind!”

Essek retreated, his back touching the farthest wall. “Nott, you should begin seriously reconsidering your priorities. If you are this desperate for alcohol, what does that say about you?”

“IT SAYS I'M FUCKING SOBER!” she screamed. Essek felt the earth rumble through the wall at his back. “I HATE THIS FEELING! I HATE HAVING CLEAR THOUGHTS BECAUSE…” She stopped, breath hitching. Essek saw tears forming in her eyes, but she wiped them away hastily. As her eyes began to water again, she shouted, “I don't have to explain anything to you! Just give me my flask! I won't drink in public, I just…I _need_ it!”

Essek held himself steady and prepared for the shoe to finally drop. If he had to make a quick getaway he would. Perhaps he could make it to Caleb before she could hit him? He seemed to have some semblance of control over her…

“No. I cannot bend our temple rules willingly.”

The ground shook so hard Essek's teeth clattered. He tried to remove himself from the wall but the quake was so massive he couldn't reorient himself to float away.

Nott's whole form was trembling from both rage and the quake. Her pointed toes dug into the dirt, possibly to steady her, but Essek had an inkling it was also a form of control. Like when a person clenched their fists to hold back the anger. She grimaced in rage.  
“GIVE ME MY FLASK!”

Nott took one single step forward, and it was as heavy as ten bison stomping at once. The earth quaked violently in response. Essek heard the sound of rapidly retreating water.

Nott suddenly froze, her gaze sliding to something to her right. Essek remembered the lake was in that direction.

The walls crumbled back into the ground and Essek was granted the full view of what Nott had seen: a huge wall of water coming directly towards them both!

Essek had absolutely no time to react. The lake wall had traveled so fast that it had reached them in seconds. He and Nott screamed as the crest of the wave came crashing down.

The force of the wave caused both of them to be swept across the shore grounds and into the temple proper. Multiple people were also caught in the tsunami wave, and two interior walls caved in from the pressure.  
Essek, when the water finally ebbed away, ended up lying on his stomach in the middle of the courtyard, like a beached toucan whale. Nott had somehow landed on top of him, her eyes wide, with water spilling out of her mouth. 

“I… _blegh_ …I hate…the wa… _hurk_ …ter…” she managed as she expelled the remaining liquid from her lungs.

Essek curled on his side, shoving her off and retching his own gallon of water. He heard multiple flood victims coughing and sputtering nearby and hoped everyone had made it out okay.

After a few minutes, Essek rolled to a sitting position. His hair flopped into his eyes, but his vision of Nott was still clear. The goblin was also seated, facing him and looking extremely sheepish.

“Sorry,” she apologized. “I didn't think that through.”

Essek waved his hand and sent a powerful gust upwards, drying both him and Nott in a matter of seconds. Nott gasped but sensed the intent and steadied herself before she could rise into the air.

When both of them were dry, their hair fluffed like a downy owlet, Essek cleared his throat.

"I also apologize,” he muttered. “Perhaps if we had both taken the time to talk things out, I would have been able to understand your…reliance on such substances.”

Nott lowered her ears. “Well…I think you're right. I need to reevaluate my priorities and maybe not rely so heavily on the booze.”

Essek scooted closer and handed her the flask, which was kind of waterlogged but still intact. Before she could grab it, he held it just out of reach and said, “How about we make a deal? I let you drink in the privacy of the Nein's bedrooms, but only if you promise to try other coping methods.”

She grimaced at the prospect.

“You don't have to tell me what drives you to drink,” Essek said quickly. “If you have someone in the Nein to talk to about it, all the better. But I _can_ help you find some semblance of inner peace, to calm your mind of the…whatever it is that plagues you.” He finally released the flask.

She grabbed it and drank from it greedily. Then, she capped it and put it away. “Sorry, I was just…”

“Nearly drowning is a good reason to drink a little,” he lamented. “I'm willing to look the other way. On one condition.”

Nott glanced at him nervously, fingers twitching. “Which is?”

Essek stood, lowering a hand to help her up.

“You help clean up this mess with me.”

“Deal.”

* * *

_I am happy to report that no one was severely injured in the rogue tsunami. Nott took responsibility for it, and ran herself ragged making sure everyone was accounted for and uninjured. Her earthbending was extremely helpful in lifting out any trapped people. I am unsure if this was caused by Nott bending water on accident in her ire or if she merely shook the ground below the lake to cause the wave. Regardless, the incident has caused quite the excited hum with the children, who saw the wave and subsequent flood as more of a fun exercise than disaster. Since the damages are minimal and injuries manageable, spirits are high. Even Master Leylas is already laughing about it._

_Nott has become much calmer in the days following the incident, and has not publicly resumed her drinking. She has even been a more avid listener in my meditation classes, though I think she's falling asleep during some of them. She's showing me she's trying, and that's what counts._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thursday everybody! I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can! Caleb is next, and then Yasha. I actually wrote Yasha first but the way her chapter flowed made it hard to put here so I switched her with Nott.  
> No one's guess the Avatar's identity yet, which is fun. I love seeing all the theories floating around!  
> Happy Thursday and 100th tonight!


	8. Caleb Widogast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Essek is having some time off in the library, and Caleb is there, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small anxiety warning, Caleb failed his wisdom save. It isn't much, he's mostly hugging Frumpkin through it, but I figured I'd warn y'all.

_Essek Avatar Log Entry #7 – Caleb Widogast_

_Except perhaps Caduceus, the only other member of the Nein that I am able to somewhat understand is the firebender, Caleb Widogast. His thirst for knowledge is as voracious as my own, and yet he is withdrawn and more humble than any firebender I've met. Nott, even before our agreement to allow her to privately drink, boasted of his prowess and constantly gave Caleb suggestions on what to learn next. I am impressed at how quickly he learns even the most complicated things._

_I am also both intrigued and apprehensive at Caleb's rapt attention during my more advanced airbending lessons. I have yet to determine if he is the Avatar based on this alone. However, one recent incident suddenly made it quite clear how powerful he is…_

* * *

Essek was in the library, spending his free time away from the majority of the Nein and enjoying the relative quiet. The only other soul in the library was Caleb, whose presence was only known due to his pet cat, Frumpkin, snoozing on a table bathed in sunlight. The cat was always in the same room as Caleb, even if one couldn't see the man before the cat.

Essek glanced around in search of Caleb when he first noticed Frumpkin, but didn't think much of it when the man didn't appear. Even after a few hours of reading, Essek had yet to see the man. Not unusual.

The day had progressed quite uneventfully, with Essek mostly researching old Avatar histories and elemental abilities while Frumpkin continued to sunbathe or groom nearby. When the sun was just beginning to set, turning the sky orange and the interior of the library a light burgandy, Essek noticed it was getting a little hot. He wiped a bit of sweat off his brow, chalking it up to the setting sun beating down on his back.

Frumpkin lifted his head, eyes wide and pupils blown. He chirped, then jumped to his paws. Without warning, the cat raced across the floor and soared into Essek's lap, effectively knocking away the scroll in the man's hands.

“H-Hey,” Essek protested. “What has gotten into you?”

Frumpkin began to yowl. His fur was now fluffed up, making him appear twice his normal size. His claws unsheathed, scraping and digging into Essek's robes as he continued yowling.

The Drow was about to hurl the cat off of him when a nearby scroll caught fire. Then another on the other side of the room. Soon, like suns being born, scrolls and books all over the library spontaneously combusted.

Essek yelped in surprise and immediately stood. Frumpkin jumped off his lap just in time.

Essek tried to remain calm as he did the first thing that came to mind: he bent the air of the library, catching as many of the inflamed books as he could inside a huge vortex. When he was sure the smaller fires were out, he widened the vortex to include literally every scroll and book. Organization be damned, he swept everything out into the hall and through any open window, sending the materials flying as far as he could muster from the increasing heat. Even with the hurricane of winds around him, Essek could feel the heat rising more. Just after he'd sent the last of the books into safety, a chair caught fire.

Frumpkin continued to yowl, but planted himself firmly between Essek's feet, deeming it the safest place to stand in the vortex. His screeches were nearly drowned out, but Essek noticed they reached a particular crescendo whenever something big was about to catch fire, like a pile of books or the table next to the window. Almost as if the cat could sense what was about to happen.

Essek's robes began to smoke a little. He didn't have much time!

Frumpkin shot out from under him and ran deeper into the library's maze of shelves. Essek cursed; Caleb was still in there!

He followed the cat past combusting shelves, avoiding some of the decorative banners as they fell to the ground on fire. Smoke now engulfed the atmosphere, choking Essek as he ran deeper into the library. Any books he had not caught in his whirlwind had either piles of ash by now or were too far gone to save. Essek winced, hoping none of them were priceless.

As he rounded a corner, one of his sleeves finally lit up. He tore the whole thing off at the shoulder without batting an eye.

Finally, he and Frumpkin reached a dead end. The shelves were halfway to ash by now, any reading material they'd once held now disintegrated.

Caleb was floating midair, his eyes glowing the same color as the setting sun outside. His hands were wreathed in flames, and the air shimmered around him like a desert mirage. It reminded Essek of the way the air had glimmered around Mollymauk at the fountain, but this time the air was heated, almost thick like oil waiting to catch fire. Caleb's face was twisted in a pained grimace, and Essek heard him groaning through clenched teeth. Blood trickled down his chin from his strained gums.

Essek didn't even think twice. He repeated the vortex trick, centering the eye on Caleb. As the winds turned faster, the air in the eye was sucked out, choking the fire and Caleb. Essek hated this technique, because taking the air out of a person could very well kill them if the airbender was untrained.

The human collapsed within a minute, and the fires all suddenly snuffed out the second he hit the ground. Essek panted, rushing to Caleb's side after dropping the vortex.

Caleb coughed and sputtered. He rolled over onto his side, already regaining consciousness after having his lungs sucked dry. Essek secretly helped him steady his breathing, another technique that was potentially dangerous for untrained benders.

“Caleb?” he asked softly. “Are you okay?”

Caleb curled into a ball, back facing Essek. Frumpkin darted over and wiggled his way into the man's arms. Caleb spent a good long while hugging Frumpkin and crying softly into his fur. Essek respected his space and sat cross-legged on the ground a few feet away. He gazed around the area, wincing at the melted and burned furniture but saying nothing.

Eventually, Caleb calmed a bit and was able to turn his head and gaze sadly at Essek.

“For what it's worth,” Essek said flippantly, fingers tracing in the ash. “We needed to redecorate the library anyway. The paintings were terribly ugly. Glad to be rid of them.”

Frumpkin mewed. Caleb stroked his head with a hand, then slowly sat up. Essek offered to help, but the man waved him off.

“I am sorry,” Caleb finally said. His voice was so soft it was nearly a whisper.

“These things happen,” Essek said. “It's honestly not the first time a firebender has set fire to our library, believe it or not. Happens every few generations or so. Even past Avatars have had accidents.”

Caleb winced, head hanging. His hair blocked his face like a curtain. “Still, it was foolish of me to do that. I had not intended to set anything on fire…”

“What were you attempting to do?”

“Um…” Caleb scratched the back of his neck. He smiled sheepishly. “Would you believe me if I said I was trying to fly?”

Essek blinked. “Fly? As in…airbend?”

“ _Nein_ , uh, no. Not airbend. Not exactly. I was…I had a theory. I thought that perhaps I might try bending heat. I had been reading some scrolls on the creativity of past firebenders and thought that if someone could bend lightning, then heat wouldn't be too much of a stretch.”

“It is a valid theory,” Essek admitted. “But why try to fly?”

Caleb blushed. “Uh…well…I rather like the way you float effortlessly. I thought it would be interesting to float using heat, and that it might make melee combat rather difficult for any enemy. I am ‘quite squishy,’ as Beau likes to put it.”

Essek felt a blush creep up his own face. He cleared his throat and tried to look at anything but Caleb, who was doing the same thing. After an awkward moment, Frumpkin meowed indignantly, bapping Caleb lightly on the cheek with a paw.

“Well,” Essek squeaked. “If you are so interested in floating, I am happy to teach you my own technique and work with you on yours. I believe you can do it. You just…probably chose the wrong place to start practicing.”

Caleb glanced around, looking rather cowed. Then, he muttered, “I'm very sorry. I'll help clean this up, and I'll take any sort of punishment.”

Essek recalled the face of the man when he'd been unable to control his bending. The pure agony and horror of what he was experiencing. He shook his head. “No. Just aid in the cleanup. I will tell Master Leylas that one of the old banners caught fire on a wall scone.”

“But--"

“Accidents happen,” Essek said firmly. “And I was able to save most of the books and scrolls. Whatever was around you was unsalvageable, but hopefully they can be replaced.”

Caleb exhaled. “I don't want you to lie on my behalf.”

“It's not a problem. Just so long as it doesn't happen again.”

The human smiled at him softly. His cat purred. Then, he said, “That I can promise.”

* * *

_It should be noted that Master Leylas saw through the lie almost immediately, but she agreed with me on letting Caleb off easy. He clearly had no intention of burning the library, and most of the documents were safely evacuated. The rest of the temple have been told the banner lie while only the three of us know the truth._

_Caleb and I have been having one-on-ones since the accident, and I must say I am extremely impressed. Not only has Caleb managed to keep control over his new heatbending, he's also come to terms with whatever sort of memory caused his loss of control to begin with. He has yet to tell me what sort of horrible past caused his PTSD, but I will not force it. Like others in the Nein, he has his own skeletons, and it is not my place to pry. He'll tell me if and when he's ready._

_I would also like to note that Caleb's studies on heatbending have led me to a new perspective in my own airbending. Caleb suggested bending the air around his controlled flames in an attempt to make them change direction, in a similar vein to how I was able to choke out a fire in my vortex. With a bit of back and forth, I've managed to make it seem as though I'm bending fire! I cannot cause flames to appear as Caleb can, but this is still an achievement worth noting! This skill to manipulate my natural element in such a way makes me all the more impressed that all of the Nein can do this, too. And it makes it all the harder to determine the Avatar's identity…_

_Spirits help me, this is a much more convoluted mystery than I ever thought it would be_.


	9. Yasha Nydoorin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A storm blows in and Essek and Yasha are trying to find some missing bison babies.

_Essek Avatar Log #8 – Yasha Nydoorin_

_Even though Caleb is extremely powerful and creative in his bending abilities, he is perhaps not the most powerful member in the troupe. And I say this not to bring down his own abilities by comparison! It's merely from an observational standpoint that I say only one other has shown more raw power than Caleb._

_As I have stated before, the Aasimar woman, Yasha, is the only other true airbender of the Nein that I know of. She’s more advanced in her skills than Jester, having lived longer and done more in her life. She’s turned out to be a good teacher for the young ones, too, though she would likely be a better teacher if Mollymauk wasn’t attached at her hip distracting them. Like Caduceus and Caleb, she is much quieter than the rest of her companions, choosing to speak only when spoken to or to give a single word of opinion._

_However, I have learned that she is possibly the most powerful member of the troupe I’ve yet observed. Just this afternoon, in fact, something happened that still shakes me to my very core…_

* * *

The storm had come upon the Kryn Air Temple so suddenly that not even the bison had sensed it. The sky had grown dark in 30 seconds, and the winds had picked up to speeds unsafe for flying. No amount of bending could stop nature, and the airbenders of Essek’s temple knew this very well.

The Nein were holed up with the rest of the temple, safe and sound in their various rooms. Essek was making rounds, assuring anyone he came across that the storm would pass, just like they always do.

Then, a cry sliced through the air. Bison were roaring. People were screaming. And lightning was flashing ever closer.

Essek raced for the stables. He heard someone behind him—multiple someones, in fact—but he didn’t really care who it was. As he exited the temple, rain battered him in the face so hard it stung. The lightning flashing through the sky threatened to blind him.

“Master Essek,” called one of the bison keepers. “The babies were flying when the storm hit! There’s still four of them missing!”

The bison parents were roaring and flying around in distress. Their remaining babies were already corralled in the stables, mewling desperately for their siblings.

Essek’s cloak billowed in the wind. He shouted, “Don’t panic! The bison will sense that! Grab your rubber-lined gliders and do a quick sweep!”

Essek’s own glider was already in his hand. He was about to flip it out to lead the search party when something zipped past him. He covered his eyes as leaves flew by.

When he reopened them, he saw Yasha directing a huge tornado underneath her. The winds wrapped her legs and lifted her high into the air almost instantly. When she was high enough, the cyclone disappeared, and bursts of air erupted from her feet with every step. She was literally running on air!

Essek unfurled his glider and raced to join her, worried that she might attract lightning. Yasha’s airbending was extremely wild, far more powerful than the controlled, peaceful style of the temple airbenders. It was so different from Jester’s playful style as well, and it nearly gave Essek vertigo thinking about it.

“Yasha!” he called out. “Wait! At least take a rubber-lined glider!”

The woman ignored him and kept running through the air. Her path was a small circle, growing outward as she completed a round. Essek joined her in silence, hopeful that her stoic silence meant she had experience in searching. He trusted this, trusted her.

After a few minutes, he spotted the babies.

They were cowering in a tree high up on a cliff face, bundled together. Only one was away from the bundle, out on the farthest limb and mewling pitifully.

Essek and Yasha flew in tandem. They swept the babies up in a current—much like how Jester and Essek had played with the babies weeks earlier. The loner baby wasn’t able to stay afloat, so Essek took him into one arm, keeping himself steady on the glider.

The air began to grow crisp. Essek’s hair stood on end, and he saw static course through the clouds around them. Lightning was about to strike…

“Yasha!” Essek shouted. “Get low!”

The Aasimar swept the babies towards Essek quickly, then rose _higher_! Essek yowled in alarm, but she clearly wasn’t concerned.

And then the lightning descended. Essek was temporarily blinded from the proximity alone, but what he saw prior to the whiteness made him think he’d lost his mind.

The time around the action slowed. Yasha, still hovering in the air, had exhaled, and then lifted her arms into the air, parallel to each other. The lightning streaked through the sky, and the atmosphere condensed with heat and light. The air itself seemed to bend with the lightning, and then the _lightning_ bent. It was inches away from Yasha’s body, circled her, then screeched away in a different direction. As it left, Yasha howled, her voice booming as loud as the thunder…at least until everything became a single high-pitched ringing.

Essek lost his concentration and fell as his vision whited out. Even though the bolt had not been redirected towards him—it had hit somewhere beyond the woods—Essek had been way too close. He and the bison babies fell like stones towards the ground.

He attempted to bend the air into a cushion for all of them, but the lights were still dancing even behind his eyelids and he couldn’t tell up from down, much less whether or not he was catching the babies with him.

Something was able to slow his fall, though Essek had no idea if it was his own bending or Yasha’s. His heart raced as he gradually descended to the ground. He landed belly-first, knees unable to hold his weight the moment he tried to touch the earth.

“Th-thank you,” he gasped. One of the babies cuddled up under his ribs as he attempted to steady his breathing.

Yasha’s voice—or at least what he could hear—was soft when she answered, “I couldn’t let you fall.”

Essek smiled up at her voice. “And I appreciate that. Very, very much. But also, thank you for finding and rescuing the bison. H-How did you…?”

Yasha’s arms helped him up. He had to lean on her as he blindly stumbled forward. “Just something I learned on my own.”

Essek attempted to ask her how she’d learned a firebending technique, but the lights still dancing in his vision caused him to feel nauseous. By the time they made it back to the stables, babies in tow, the only thing on Essek’s mind was getting to his room and sleeping off his tinnitus and semi-blindness.

* * *

_I am glad I’m not a proud man, because I certainly needed the help back to my bed after that affair. I have yet to ask Yasha about her supposed ability to bend lightning. It intrigues me to no end, but every time I approach her, she seems to be busy. Either she’s surrounded by a hoard of children—usually attached with Mollymauk—or she’s somehow disappeared until dinner time. Out of all of the members of the Nein, Yasha has been the most mysterious. And the most difficult to find on purpose._


	10. The Avatar's Identity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Nein face a rampaging spirit. To Essek's horror, the battle is not in their favor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Canon-typical violence ahead. A lot of blood is mentioned.  
> This is also where the tag Dubious Bending Sciences comes into play.

_Essek Avatar Log Entry #9_

_I'm writing this as quickly as possible because I feel as though I'm about to have a stroke. After months of training and observing the Nein, watching for any signs that one of them might be the Avatar, they've finally made themselves known! It was not through casual observation that the answer came to me, either._

_A fair warning that I am writing this as quickly as I can due to the sheer amount of information I had to absorb during this fast-paced day._

_It started about a day after the storm…_

* * *

Essek was still in his bed recovering when he heard someone shout. It was far off, and Essek couldn't exactly move much, so he assumed it was Beau or Nott and tried to go back to sleep.

About twenty minutes later, Caduceus entered his quarters, tea tray in tow. The Firbolg smiled softly at him.

“G'morning,” he muttered, voice deep and soothing. “I brought some revitalizing tea. Should give you an energy boost.”

Essek furrowed his brow. “I'd honestly rather rest today, Mr. Clay. My inner ear is still off-balance.”

“I'm sorry to hear that,” Caduceus said. Despite any weak protests, he was already helping Essek into a sitting position. “But it was decided that we should really evacuate the temple, and that includes you.”

Essek sputtered as he swallowed the tea. “Evacuate?” he repeated. “What for?”

Caduceus allowed him to finish his cup before answering. “There's a big spirit on the loose. Big angry one. Heading straight for the temple. The rest of the Nein and some of the masters are trying to stop it, but it's really powerful. Master Leylas ordered an evacuation of the temple so none of the kids or invalids would get in the crosshairs.”

Essek bristled a little at being lumped into the _invalid_ category, but he held his tongue. Caduceus was blunt but kind, he probably didn't mean it to sound rude. “Then…Then let us go.”

He had to lean on Caduceus more than he thought he would. Though the Firbolg was not as muscular as Yasha had been the day before, he was still quite sturdy. He had a smooth way of handling Essek as the Drow stumbled and wobbled, almost as if he'd had practice with this sort of thing. Then again, he most likely did have practice since the other members of the Nein seemed inclined to hurt themselves on a regular basis.  
It didn't take long for Caduceus’s tea to take effect. Within minutes, Essek felt strong enough to walk on his own, yet he still needed a walking stick to keep his balance. He really hoped that damage to his inner ear wasn't permanent.

Once outside, Essek finally heard the commotion. People were running around, trying to herd the younger children to safety, goading the stable bison to take off, and attempting to bring some important relics from the Halls of History. Nearby roars and booms could be heard, possibly originating from the lake, though Essek couldn't be sure on his current hearing accuracy.

“This way.” Caduceus guided him to the stable, out of which the keepers were still trying to shoo the bison parents and babies. Essek's own bison was still there, refusing to budge even when the stable hands pushed against him.

“Faolan,” Essek called. His voice was shaky but firm. “Come.”

The bison finally moved. As he did, the keepers pushing against him fell face first into the straw. Faolan shambled up to Essek and licked his partner in the face. Essek took it in stride.

With some help from Caduceus, he finally managed to get on top of the bison. Once his vision stopped swimming from the exertion, he looked down at Caduceus, who still hadn't moved from the ground.

“Are you not coming?” Essek asked.

“I need to help the others. If it's a spirit problem, maybe I could calm it down.”

“If the Nein are fighting it, it might be too late to talk.”

Caduceus nodded thoughtfully. “It's still worth a shot.”

“Hop on,” Essek urged. “I can get you close in no time.”

“Are you okay to drive?”

“I'm sitting down,” the Drow explained. “I have a better handle on my sitting balance than I did standing. Besides, I trust Faolan to figure out my meaning and adjust if needed.”

Faolan grunted in agreement.

Caduceus seemed to take Faolan's word over Essek's, so he finally hopped aboard. “Sounds like they're by the lake,” he informed Essek. “Which means the others haven't had much luck in holding it back.”

“What kind of spirit is it?” the Drow asked as they flew.

“Dragon Eel.”

Essek had heard tales of those. Usually they were benevolent and extremely neutral, especially in affairs regarding human conflict. He remembered being a child and seeing a few Dragon Eel spirits flying over the lake. While he wasn't very spiritual, some spirits didn't make attempts to hide from the gazes of mortals. This meant even he could see them if the spirit so wished.

He also remembered the tale of one particularly grouchy Dragon Eel spirit that lived nearby. His old mentors had said to be very calm and quiet in passing his lair, so as not to disturb him. The spirit was old, and very powerful. And extremely violent.

Essek relayed this information to Caduceus. The Firbolg hummed in thought, then said, “Yeah, that sounds about right. The spirit was really big, too. Dunno why he's upset.”

Essek had a theory it could have been the storm that riled him up. After all, it had come from nowhere, and the commotion surrounding it might have had someone evacuate too close to the Dragon Eel's lair.

Oh.

The lightning Yasha had bent…

“I believe it may have been upset by a rogue lightning bolt. Yasha had bent one away yesterday afternoon to save the bison babies.”

“Yasha can't bend lightning.”

The flat tone caused Essek to glance back at the Firbolg. Caduceus blinked languidly, not reacting to Essek's confused expression.

“But…she did. I saw her do it.”

Caduceus shook his head, pink hair flapping in the wind. “Sorry to say, she probably only seemed like she bent lightning. She can't actually redirect it like a firebender, she can only bend the air pressure at precise moments to make the lightning bend around her. It's a super powerful move she learned on her own, and I don't think it works as well with lightning generated from a firebender. There's less natural pressure to bend and it's way riskier.”

“Riskier than teaching yourself to bend the air around _actual lightning_?”

Caduceus paused. “Fair. But still, that's probably what you saw Yasha do; bend the air pressure and wind around her to redirect the lightning just enough. She can't control where it ultimately goes, just stop it from hitting the original target.”

Essek was dumbfounded. Yasha was far more powerful than he'd realized. He mentally slapped himself. Of course! She was performing a variant of airbending Essek himself was only just beginning to learn! While Essek could barely redirect flames for a short period, Yasha could redirect lightning using a similar method; it was genius!  
Not that he'd ever attempt it personally. Far too dangerous. Still, it was worth studying and recording for a future airbender, or possibly a future Avatar, to learn.

Oh. That meant…

“Yasha isn't the Avatar, is she?” he finally asked.

“Nope. Good guess, though. Most people think it's her after seeing her in action.”

“Understandable.”

Suddenly, Caduceus scooted closer to the edge of the saddle and pointed beyond Essek. “There!”

Faolan turned past a thick cloud and Essek was finally able to see the Dragon Eel. It was massive! As long as a Lion Turtle and as quick as a true dragon, the spirit was an angry maroon color, his spinal fur a deep puce with silver streaks. The peacock feather eyebrows were frayed, the orange shade dirtied from mud and blood. His grey beak was also stained with blood, and Essek had a feeling it wasn't his own.

The Nein looked absolutely trashed. Caleb was down, Nott crouched over him protectively. A few huge boulders hovered in the air, ready to be launched at the flick of Nott's tiny ankles.

Fjord was surfing on the lake's surface, bending separate tentacles of water to slap the spirit. His torso was stained in mud, but his face was slick with sweat.

Beau, brave soul, was jumping around and making several attempts to hit the spirit with her staff, most of which were unsuccessful. They either missed or went through the spirit when he noticed her attack.

Jester was flying around with Yasha, both of them casting a huge wall of wind, possibly in the hopes of slowing the spirit down. It wasn't working very well, and they had to split off constantly to avoid the Dragon Eel’s sweeping tail.

Mollymauk was tied to Yasha in what had to be one of the stupidest-looking parasailing stunts Essek had ever seen, his coat acting as a small parachute while his tail was the rudder. He was bleeding the most out of all of them (except Caleb), and Essek realized most of the blood on the spirit must have come from Molly's bloodbending. Now he understood the parasailing; Molly would be held aloft by Yasha's winds and not need to worry about standing upright.

“Wow, he looks mad,” Caduceus noted.

“Indeed. Faolan, down!”

The bison rocketed downward right as the spirit knocked his tail against Beau like he was playing baseball. The woman went flying, but Faolan maneuvered enough to catch her in the saddle. She landed with an _oof_ , head tucked close to her chest.

“Hi,” Caduceus greeted casually.

“Fucking eel bitch,” Beau spat. “I can't fuckin’ hit it worth a damn!”

“Maybe try not yelling pop pop before every attack?”

“Shut up! It's my system, man!”

Faolan swerved around the spirit's beak attack, shutting up the conversation momentarily.

“Hey, Master Essek,” Caduceus shouted over the roars of the Dragon Eel spirit. “Is there kelp in the lake?”

“I believe so. Why?”

The Firbolg didn't give him an answer. He suddenly jumped off the bison into the lake in what had to have been a perfect swan dive. A few moments later, an enormous creature made entirely of kelp rose up from beneath the surface. It opened briefly at the torso, revealing Caduceus wrapped within, kelp and algae already stuck to his hair and face.

Fjord skimmed the water nearby, yelling, “About time! You got anything bigger?”

“Any more and I might damage the ecosystem.”

“Well, hopefully that hits better than Beau's staff.”

“HEY, I HEARD THAT ASSHAT!” Beau screeched from her perch.

“MAYBE FUCKIN' HIT THE DAMN THING AND I WON'T COMPLAIN!” Fjord screeched back.

Essek exhaled in shock. “Excuse me, Beau. But what was the plan, exactly?”

The woman turned to her impromptu cabby driver. “Uh…stop it from getting to the temple.”

“And how exactly did you plan on doing it?”

“Hit it ‘til it stops being a problem.” Beau shrugged. “It's worked before.”

Essek began to doubt the Avatar was even among this group if that was their plan for everything. “Please tell me you had a backup?”

“Uh…”

Faolan suddenly rolled sideways to avoid the flailing of the spirit. Beau nearly fell out of the saddle, spitting curses as she steadied herself. Essek glanced back at the fight, watching as the Dragon Eel spirit whipped around and caught Jester in his beak. Yasha got hit by the tail as he lunged away, Molly careening wildly behind her on his rope.

Without the double winds keeping him slowed, the spirit began to writhe faster. He was about to take off when vines suddenly shot around his neck. Watery tendrils joined the vines, bringing the spirit back down to the Nein's relative level. Boulders began to batter the spirit around his head, causing him to drop Jester. She fell like a stone, thankfully only dropping about 10 feet before hitting the sand, unconscious and bleeding, but alive.

Essek steered Faolan closer to the fight, allowing Beau enough space to jump off the saddle and finally crack her staff atop the spirit's skull before he could go ethereal. The Dragon Eel yowled in pain, eyes glowing dangerously red as it wheeled to face the now-grounded Beau. She held a middle finger up at him, standing defensively with her staff held by her free hand.

Blood streaked across the spirit's face, sharper than any blade. He screeched and jerked his head back in alarm.

Molly whooped as he sailed gracefully behind Yasha. The Aasimar rolled her eyes with a smirk, then began bending the air pressure itself to slam down on the spirit while he was distracted. Essek could feel the gravity shift even from his position on Faolan. His bison roared in discomfort and was forced to land next to the stirring Caleb.

The man was bleeding from his nose and head. Nott was trying to bandage him up as much as possible while also sending earth chunks to keep the spirit at bay. Caleb groaned every time she stomped the ground to send up more chunks.

Essek took over, ripping up pieces of his own robes as makeshift bandages. Nott gave him a nod and turned around to face the Dragon Eel spirit, but one of her ears stayed rotated back a little. She was staying aware of Caleb's condition.

“Essek?” Caleb groaned. “What…?”

“Ssh, it's okay,” he assured the human. “As soon as I get you patched up, we'll get on my bison where you can lay down safely.”

“What about you?”

Essek hesitated before saying, “I'll be fine for now. I don't think I could keep my balance if I tried anything more than a stiff breeze. But that doesn't mean I can't help you get to safety.”

Caleb smiled at the sentiment. He looked as if he was about to say something when suddenly, his eyes widened. He yelped, “Look out!” and grabbed Essek in a dive to the ground.

Essek felt something swish past his scalp as he fell. Something cold and angry. His vision swam after he landed, and the tinnitus returned briefly. He was suddenly aware of the urge to vomit creeping up his throat. Breathing deeply, he swallowed the bile in his mouth and concentrated on something other than the ringing in his ears.

Heat blossomed around him, and for a brief moment he thought he was back in the burning library. Opening his eyes, Essek saw a very wavy blob called Caleb come into focus. He was creating a huge wall of fire, protecting him, Essek, and Nott from the spirit. The Dragon Eel spirit roared in rage, narrowly avoiding the leaping flames as he attempted in vain to dive at the wounded benders again.

The spirit glared at Caleb, then turned away to deal with the rest of the Nein, who were still engaged with him.

“Open a gap,” Nott shouted. “Lemme get Jester! She's down, too!”

Caleb did as she instructed, and within a minute or two, Jester was dragged into the ring of fire. By then, Essek had regained the rest of his hearing and was no longer nauseated. He scrambled over to Jester and propped her head onto his lap. Nott got to work, taking strips of both her and Essek's clothes in an attempt to stop Jester from bleeding out. The spirit's bite hadn't gone too deep, but it had been enough to make her pass out from the pain. Caleb sat down, his breath ragged. The fire stayed up, swaying with his breathing.

“We need to retreat,” Caleb gasped out. “This is not going to end well for us.”

“But the temple,” Nott pointed out. “The kids and bison…”

“They should be evacuated by now,” Essek said. “The temple is emtpy.”

“But what if the spirit destroys it?”

“We can rebuild. The Air Nation began in nomadic lifestyles. We have survived far worse than one spirit razing a temple.”

“Don't you have, like, priceless artifacts?”

“The most important things are stored deep underground, and even they are not worth sacrificing a life to retrieve in an emergency evacuation.”

“We can worry about artifacts later,” Caleb protested. “For now, we need to get to Faolan and flee.”

“Right.”

Essek whistled sharply. Faolan banked and came in for a landing just as Caleb lowered the fire. Nott bent the earth beneath Jester and herself, lifting her up on a chunk and depositing them into the saddle safely. Essek gave himself and Caleb a boost with a little airbending, trying not to think about the nausea it caused. When they were all safe in the saddle, Essek snapped at the reins and gave a quick, “Yip-yip!”

They took off right as a rogue wave crashed into the ground behind them. Fjord appeared as the water receded, sputtering and coughing. He didn't notice the bison, still focused on the spirit now wrestling with the Kelp Caduceus. Beau was running along in the shallows, throwing stones to goad the spirit closer to the shoreline. Yasha and Molly were the only air defense, determined to keep the spirit out of the higher altitudes. Faolan, at Essek's urging, used his tail to help Yasha keep the spirit down.

The spirit's eyes glowed more intensely than before. His gaze swept through the Nein, searching, determining something. Then, without warning, he broke away from the Kelp Caduceus violently, sending the Firbolg’s kelp body backwards into deeper waters. Fjord attempted to restrain the spirit with his water tendrils, but the spirit had rocketed upward so fast the water didn't get there in time.

The spirit didn't go very far. He lunged for Molly, snapping the purple tiefling up in his beak and crunching hard. Molly screamed, the rope around his waist digging deep into his skin at the same time the teeth of the spirit pierced his torso. By the time Essek could react to the tragic update to the fight, the rope broke, and Yasha was trying to catch the spirit. And Molly was dangling from his beak, screeching weakly as he was shaken back and forth like a dog's chew toy.

Before the spirit could snap Molly in half, Caleb sent a spear of fire into his eyes. The Dragon Eel spirit yowled and dropped Molly instantly. Essek urged Faolan into a sharp dive, catching the tiefling before he hit the water at a dangerous velocity. Blood spattered onto the saddle as Molly tumbled in, landing near Jester. He was out cold.

“Molly!” Nott screamed. “Molly, hang in there!”

Faolan sped away from the fight between an enraged Yasha and the Dragon Eel spirit. They descended once to pick up Beau while Fjord and Caduceus readjusted themselves and reentered the fray.

Essek was near panicking. They needed the Avatar. If one of them went into the Avatar State, they could easily overpower the spirit.

So why hadn't they done so?

Essek turned around to face the other passengers. “Have you all been lying this entire time?”

Beau, who had taken Jester into her lap, glared at him. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Are _any_ of you the Avatar? Or have you all been claiming they're among you to get special treatment?”

“Can we discuss this later?” Nott yelled. She was desperately trying to hold Molly still. He was twitching a bit, blood spurting from his mouth.

“No. If one of you is the Avatar, then the best course of action is to go into the Avatar State! That's the only thing left that could possibly subdue the spirit!”

The conscious ones in the group looked very spooked. No one dared look Essek in the eyes.

“I promise we are not lying,” Caleb swore softly. “One of us _is_ the Avatar. But…But that knowledge is very private, and we don't want to attract the wrong attention should someone discover their identity.”

Essek took a deep breathe and exhaled through his nose. “I understand the need for privacy. I really do. But look at Molly and Jester. Look at Caleb. Look at your friends still fighting! You are losing! The Avatar needs to stop this spirit before any of you actually die!”

Beau still didn't look him in the eye. Nott's attention was back on Molly, who was now writhing, eyes screwed shut in pain. Every few seconds he began to moan.

Caleb sighed. “It's…it's hard to explain.”

“Enlighten me.”

“The Avatar…doesn't exactly know he's the Avatar.”

Essek blinked. “Excuse me?”

“It's true,” Beau added. “We keep it a secret for his own sanity. He's not ready to know yet…”

“How old are you all?” Essek yelled. “Over sixteen, surely! Old enough that this knowledge should have presented itself long ago!” He paused, finally registering the pronoun. “Which of them is it? Fjord? Caduceus?” He remembered Caduceus saying it wasn't him, yet if the others kept it a secret, he might not even know it.

Molly suddenly thrashed, rolling away from Nott. He clutched his head, screaming in agony. Blood speckled his lips. Something flickered behind his eyelids. Something bright.

Essek froze. No. _No_. He'd automatically assumed it was either Fjord or Caduceus because they were the only males still fighting, and Caleb was telling them about the Avatar's secret. He'd not counted Molly because he'd been knocked unconscious, and maybe secretly because he'd not wanted to face the possibility of a bloodbending Avatar.

And yet, as Molly's usually red eyes shot open to reveal an eerie white glow, Essek realized he needed to do just that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loki voice: "Surpiiiise."  
> It was Molly all along! Next chapter is the fallout and explanations, including more of the very dubious bending sciences I mentioned.


	11. The Avatar State

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avatar and the Dragon Eel spirit face off. And the Nein have some explaining to do...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More canon-typical violence ahead, as well as the dubious bending sciences.

_Essek Avatar Log Entry #9 (continued)_

_…Spirits help us all. The Avatar is a bloodbender._

* * *

Essek felt like the surrounding temperature dropped 20 degrees the moment Mollymauk's glowing white eyes opened. The sky seemed to darken, and the winds picked up immediately. Wordlessly, the lavender Tiefling stood up, ignoring the blood pouring from his wounds. He wobbled, though it seemed as if it wasn't from the blood loss. It looked like he was a puppet on a string.

“Molly, stop!” Nott yelled. “You can't go out there like this!”

Molly's face was twisted in anger, his features still as stone. His blood-slicked hair waved in the increasing wind speeds. All of his jewelry tinkled like wind chimes from Hell.

“Mollymauk,” Caleb attempted. His voice was shaking but his stance was steady. He held his hands out as if he were speaking to a Goat Gorilla. “ _Bitte_ , settle down.”

Molly turned his glowing gaze to Caleb. “ ** _That is not my name_** ,” he said in a hundred voices.

“I will not say any other,” Caleb said, his voice firmer. “And I will not let you kill yourself here and now.”

“ ** _I do not need your permission to fight._** ”

Before anyone could say something else, Molly shot into the air, a cyclone whirling around his legs as he cleared the bison's airspace. Essek watched in horrified awe as Molly's blood was sucked up with him. The saddle became clean again, the blood flowing back towards Molly quickly. Even the dried blood was gone.

The blood circled Molly like a deathly halo, spikes rising and falling in the current. Molly's eyes went from a blueish-white to a bright crimson. Blood pellets came loose from the halo and hardened into knife-sharp ice.

Molly didn't hesitate. He soared through the air towards the Dragon Eel spirit. The blood ice shot out in front of him like a lance. Within seconds, it pierced the spirit's hide, causing him to screech in pain. The spirit whirled on his new opponent, ignoring the extremely wounded Fjord. Caduceus took Fjord into his kelp monster mass and sank below the water.

“Molly!” Essek heard Yasha scream. He steered Faolan closer, ready to catch someone of they fell. And also grab Fjord and Caduceus whenever they resurfaced.

Molly ignored Yasha. He bent the small blood river around him into a couple of icy blades in the shape of scimitars. Rocks rose up from below at the flick of his tail, lumping together and forming the hilts of the new swords. Molly inhaled deeply, then exhaled fire from his nostrils. The flames grew until they became the replacement halo.

The Dragon Eel spirit looked absolutely stunned. Essek didn't blame him; he'd nearly snapped the Avatar in half earlier. And it seemed no amount of apologizing would make the Avatar forgive him.

Molly did not even give him the chance to run. He lunged forward with a jerkiness not dissimilar to a puppet being pulled on a string. The fire shot ahead, trapping the spirit within a sphere of flames. Molly then jumped through the fire and stabbed the spirit in the eyes with both blood blades.

The Dragon Eel roared in agony. He lurched away, sacrificing some of his plumage to escape through the flames. The fire returned to revolve around Molly as soon as the spirit flew out.

Molly looked ready to give chase when Essek noticed the air pressure change again. Faolan groaned in discomfort, sinking lower. Molly also sank, grunting as he fought to stay aloft.

Yasha was waving her arms slowly. Essek realized she was the cause in pressure shift, and he was once again impressed by how powerful she was for a supposedly self-taught airbender. Faolan wasn't even the target, and yet Yasha managed to send him into a landing dive due to the heavier pressure.

Molly grimaced, his eyes flickering back to white as the blood reverted to a ring. The fire died away and the rocks fell. Molly looked pained; Essek assumed he was trying to keep the blood up while also fighting against the increasing pressure.

“Molly,” Yasha shouted. “You did it. The spirit learned its lesson. Now, come back to us, Molly.”

“ ** _You do not control me_** ,” Molly growled in his many voices. “ ** _And you do not know me._** ”

Without warning, tendrils made of both water and tightly-packed kelp shot out of the water, catching hold of Molly's arms and legs. Molly yelped in alarm, glaring down at the source of his new confinement: Fjord.

The Half-Orc was standing on the lake shore, feet in the shallows. He was looking a lot better than he had a few minutes ago, wounds not bleeding and only a few bruises marring his face. His face was a mask of concentration as he held his arms up, holding the water and vine tendrils in place. Caduceus was standing in the shallows with him, gazing at Molly sadly.

Faolan skidded through the sand as he landed nearby. Nott hopped off, helping Caleb and Essek down from the saddle. Beau stayed with Jester, who was just beginning to stir. It would be a few minutes before she was able to get down.

“Come on, Molly,” Fjord grunted. “Crisis averted! Get down here!”

Essek glanced at the retreating form of the Dragon Eel spirit. He was already fleeing back to his own territory, writhing blindly in the air. There would be no more trouble from that spirit. If they were lucky, he would even run back to the Spirit World.

Molly howled and thrashed in his restraints. “ ** _Release me, you pond scum-colored half-beast! You are not worthy even to lick my boots!_** ”

“Okay, hang on,” Caduceus said calmly. “Lemme try something. I was gonna use it on the spirit, but he wouldn't stay in one place long enough. Keep him there, Fjord, if you wouldn't mind.”

“Trying to, Duces,” Fjord grumbled. His brow began to bead with sweat. “Molly's puttin' up one helluva fight.”

Indeed, the Tiefling was still technically airborne, thrashing and writhing his entire form around as Fjord struggled to bring him closer to the ground. Yasha's continuous addition of pressure helped ensure he didn't rise higher.

“Don't let him fully land,” Nott warned. “Remember last time?”

Essek turned to Caleb. “What happened last time?”

“The moment Mollymauk touched the ground, he managed to drill straight down and out. We didn't find him for a whole day, when he stumbled back to us with no recollection of what had happened or how he got so far away.”

Essek furrowed his brow. “How strange. Why is Molly having such difficulties with his Avatar State, I wonder? It sounds as though this is a different personality altogether.”

Caleb sighed. “It's very complicated. And very…hush-hush. If word got out that the Avatar was so violent and uncontrollable in his Avatar State…”

“…it would be disastrous on multiple levels,” Essek finished. “I understand.”

Caduceus stepped forward in the water, drawing their attention back to the matter at hand. He took a very loose horse stance, knees bowed out and feet firm in the sand underwater. His arms wove through the air like eels, smooth and loose.

Twin pillars of water rose gently out of the lake, twisting into figure eights around Molly's struggling form. Molly howled in rage, unable to bend the water away from Caduceus due to his entrapped state. The blood shivered violently, some blobs falling into the lake, unable to stay aloft thanks to Molly's decreasing concentration.

Essek watched in awe as Caduceus's eyes began to glow a soft yet solid yellow color. The base of the pillars gained the same glow, the color seeping upward quickly and enveloping Molly within seconds. Molly gasped, his eyes becoming the same yellow as Caduceus's. His body went limp.

Yasha returned the air pressure to normal. The water pillars splashed back into the lake without fanfare. Fjord slowly lowered Molly to the ground, not releasing the Tiefling until absolutely certain he wouldn't bolt.

Molly's eyes had closed during the descent, so he collapsed once released. Yasha was there to catch him, picking him up bridal-style and holding him with a gentleness that could have made a baby jealous.

Everyone piled into the bison saddle, Essek and Caleb being helped once more. As everyone settled down and Faolan ascended, Fjord turned to Caduceus.

“What was that?” he asked incredulously.

“What?”

“That glowy…water…shit.” Fjord waved his hands in a piss-poor mimicry of the Firbolg's earlier waterbending. “What the fuck was that and why didn't you do that _last time_?”

“Or, y'know,” Beau interjected. “During the fight with the fuckin' Dragon Eel spirit would have been a cool-ass time to use it.”

“I need the target to stay in one place,” Caduceus explained, his voice calm and even. “Otherwise the trick doesn't work.”

“And what trick was it?”

“A very advanced waterbending technique,” Essek informed them. When everyone looked at him with wide eyes, he shrugged. “I have studied many things, and the concept of this sort of waterbending intrigued me.”

“Yeah, I saw the scroll in your library,” Caduceus said happily. He looked very proud of himself. “Thought it might come in handy.”

“How long did it take you to make it work?” Essek asked.

Caduceus paused, lips pursed thoughtfully. “You know, that's the first time I actually did it. I was practicing movements and things but never actually did a test run.”

“You mean you had no idea if it would work or not? Do you always do things like that?”

A big dopey smile crossed the Firbolg's face. “Yup. What's life without a few surprises?”

Essek felt himself growing dizzy, but not from his inner ear imbalance. He leaned back against the saddle horn, looking up at the clouds zipping by.

“It's okay, Master Essek,” Caduceus said. “We all do things like that. Fjord, didn't you say you hadn't meant to split the ground beneath Beau that one time?”

“Yeah, fuck you for that,” Beau snapped. Her raised voice finally woke Jester up fully. The blue Tiefling sat up slowly and stretched, clutching her wounded sides with a hiss.

Essek recalled the moment at the waterbenders' meditation session, suddenly realizing all of his observations of the Nein were still odd considering only one member was the Avatar. “Yes,” he said, sitting up sharply. “You're a waterbender. How did you split the earth like that?”

Fjord smiled sheepishly. “Well, when I was trying to meditate, Caduceus said to feel the land around me, to sense water in places people don't think about. There's actually an underground river below the temple, did you know that? I picked up on it right before you and Beau showed up.”

“Fjord tried bending some of the underground water up,” Caduceus continued. “But there wasn't much room for it to maneuver, especially while Fjord was on the ground. All he managed to do was shake the river like a rattle and it caused a tiny earthquake when it tried to come up. Had he been a little more into it, I'm sure he would have gotten a geyser going.”

“Impressive,” Essek muttered. “And also thank you for the notice on the river. I will tell Master Leylas once a semblance of normality returns.”

He turned to Nott. “You did something similar, but in reverse. That day you confronted me about your flask.”

Nott's ears drooped. Caleb gave her a soft glare, but she ignored him. “Yeah…I got a little overzealous with my earthquakes. My quaking reached to the other side of the lake and caused the tsunami. My bad.”

“Really, Nott?” Beau complained. “My fucking clothes were on the line drying when that freak wave came through!”

“Oh, man, that wave sucked,” Jester piped up. “Me and Molly were playing with some kids when it hit. Pickles really hated getting wet that time.”

She looked over at Molly as she referenced him. “Oh no! What happened to Molly?”

“Had a bit of a hiccup,” Caduceus said. “He went into the Avatar State.”

“But Mr. Clay brought him back,” Nott cheered. “Or put him to sleep. Actually I don't know what exactly he did beyond powerful waterbending shit.”

“The scroll said it helps calms spirits, so I figured it'd work on Molly. He's a basically a bunch of spirits in a trench coat, isn't he?”

Jester snorted. “Oh my gosh, he totally is! Do you think all the past Avatars stand on top of each other when the current one goes into the Avatar State? That would be super funny!”

Essek tilted his head. “I don't think it works quite like that.”

“How do you know? Have you ever seen the inside of Molly's brain?”

“Normally I would say I don't wish to, but if he has been having difficulty with mastering the Avatar State, then I would honestly love to see what's going on in there.”

“I don't,” Beau said. “Normal Molly is a fucking asshole. Imagine a thousand of them.”

“The Avatar is not the same personality every time,” Essek informed her. “Some are polite and kind, others are boorish or cold, but never has one been outright evil.”

“Molly's not evil,” Nott protested.

“I didn't say that. I meant one has never been evil, even if some are assholes.”

“Some evil people can be assholes,” Caleb added. “But not all assholes are evil.”

They all sat in silence for a minute. No one seemed sure where to go with the conversation.

“Is there any explanation for Molly's behavior?” Essek asked when the quiet became a little too much. “Besides ‘it's complicated,’ please.”

“We don't…really know,” Beau drawled.

“He woke up five years ago with no memory,” Yasha explained. “Like, completely blank. He didn’t know anything, even how to speak. It took him a year to discover a personality of his own, and even then I don’t know if it was the same as before.”

“A few months ago, we saw someone that triggered some flashbacks from… _before_ ,” Caleb added. He looked hollow, as if the very mention of this event had brought up his own terrible past. “It…It scared him, so we've been avoiding that person since then.”

“We’re really good at avoiding people we don’t like,” Jester said proudly. “It’s kind of our thing.”

“The Mighty Nope,” Nott announced.

“It was fine for a while,” Yasha continued. “We even kinda forgot about it for a bit, since we had other stuff to deal with. But then…one day he went into the Avatar State and nearly took out a pack of polar bear dogs before trying to run. When we caught up to him, he didn't remember doing anything, so we all agreed that it might be best to let him stay in the dark for a while.”

“For how long?”

“We'd hoped a little bit longer,” Caleb said. “But it's been getting more and more difficult to pass off, especially when trouble seems to find us even in peaceful places.”

“The burden of the Avatar is a heavy one, even for an ignorant one like Molly,” Caduceus said sagely.

Molly groaned in Yasha's arms, curling deeper into her chest. Caduceus slid over and bent some of the water from someone's waterskin to begin a healing technique. Essek noticed Fjord watching with curiosity, as if he were a student learning from a teacher.

“Ouch,” Jester grumbled. She was frowning at her side, which was still covered in dried blood. “This is gonna hurt a lot in the morning.”

“Hurts a lot _now_ ,” Caleb muttered, sinking deeper into the saddle. Essek felt the same way, closing his eyes. The group lapsed into a far more comfortable silence after that as Faolan flew past the empty temple and to the planned evacuation sites a few miles away.

He hoped when he eventually got back to his room, he would sleep undisturbed for a month.

* * *

_The discovery of the Avatar's identity has left me with more questions than answers, but I understand now the hesitance to reveal such information to the world. Mollymauk is a strange man with a very shrouded past, but he seems to possess the good will of a usual Avatar, despite his very trickster-like qualities._

_There are multiple questions I would like answers to, though. Such as how Molly is mostly a waterbender—so powerful he can bloodbend—yet he should be a natural Earthbender. It’s very interesting that he awoke as an amnesiac and learned to bend water first. Almost as if the cycle went to Water instead of staying with Earth…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's one more chap left, the epilogue. I'm thinking about extending this into a new story, as well, to play with this world some more (and also torture Molly, Caleb, and the others in a more serious setting)


	12. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Essek and Master Leylas have one last chat.

Essek tried to keep his breathing steady as he entered Master Leylas's study. He'd requested an audience with her, citing he needed to speak with her about the Nein and their Avatar. Privately. After a bit of convincing, she finally agreed.

Her study wasn't spacious, but it was still roomy enough to fit a bison comfortably with space to spare. The airbending master was scribbling something on a parchment, her attention on the scroll she studied. Essek did not look at it, nor did he move past the entrance. He waited patiently for her to finish.

After a few moments, she put her quill down and rolled up the scroll. The parchment and scroll went into a drawer in her desk.

“Master Essek,” she greeted. “You have news?”

“Yes.” Essek finally stepped further into the room. He made sure the door was closed behind him before beginning: “I apologize for the delay, but I was rather indisposed recently.”

Leylas's expression softened. “How are you, by the way? Do you need to sit down at all?”

Essek shook his head. “My hearing has returned and my balance stabilized. Caduceus has been a major help in my rehabilitation due to his skill at healing.”

It had taken a little over a week for Essek to feel normal, and that was after Caduceus nearly got shoved into his room by Jester, who only wanted to make sure Essek got all his bases covered. The Firbolg had been embarrassed at being forced to invade Essek's privacy, stating he was never one to impose or intrude, especially if someone could be offended by the very idea of outside help. Essek assured him it was fine, that he'd not asked for aid mainly because he had been passed out 90% of the time. Ever since that first water therapy session, Essek had felt much better.

“I'm glad you've made a speedy recovery, then,” Leylas said, her smile still present.

“Thank you. But back to the matter of the Avatar…” Essek paused to take a breath. “This information cannot leave this room, Master Leylas. It is extremely private, and I had assured the Nein no ill will would come of our shared knowledge of their Avatar's identity.”

“Then I shall swear by the grace of the first airbending master, Luxon. I swear I shall not tell a soul of the identity of the Avatar without the Nein's permission.”

Essek nodded gratefully. “The Avatar is the Tiefling, Mollymauk Tealeaf.”

Surprise flickered across Leylas's face. “Really? I would have thought it to be Caleb or Yasha from my own observations.”

Essek explained the Nein's various methods of red herrings, bending pressures and heat, finding water sources in uncommon places, even bending air in a way that looked as if one could bend another element. To emphasize this last point, Essek bent a small gust of wind toward a lit candle on the desk. With a bit of concentration, he was able to feed the flame and twist it up and away from the candle. Like a little will-o-wisp, it was forced to float around Essek before eventually sputtering out.

Leylas blinked. “Impressive work, Master Essek. And you say the Nein do this almost on a regular basis?”

“Almost annoyingly so. If one wishes to discern the identity through casual observation, the Nein have made it extremely difficult to do so.”

“Speaking from experience?” she joked.

Essek's eyebrow twitched. “Yes.”

“Then how did you manage to discover it at all?”

Essek retold the tale of the ancient Dragon Eel spirit and his defeat at the hands of Mollymauk in the Avatar State. Leylas's shock was evident at the mention of Molly's bloodbending. The shock melted into confusion as Essek recounted Molly's amnesia and ignorance of his own Avatar abilities, as well as someone else possibly taking control during his time in the Avatar State.

“How is that possible?” she asked.

“Many things about Mollymauk create more questions than answers,” Essek said. “Which is…which brings me to another reason for this visit. The Mighty Nein have expressed interest in leaving soon to visit with family elsewhere. I haven't exactly trained Molly yet, and was wondering…”

“…if you could go with them,” Leylas finished. “Well, I would say that's unorthodox, but isn't everything about the current Avatar unorthodox?”

She laughed and shook her head at her own joke. “I don't think I'd be able to stop you. Why even ask?”

“It's polite. But I assure you I shall still be training the Nein in airbending. I'll be a little more assertive in getting Molly to join in.”

“Be truthful,” Leylas said slyly. “Your main concern is to learn more of that false bending.”

“It isn't my _main_ goal,” Essek muttered. “But, I will admit, it is one of the reasons I wish to go with them…”

She still smiled. “Of course. So, when shall we expect to see the Nein off?”

“They wish to leave tomorrow morning.”

“Then,” Leylas said, rising, “let us at least see them off with a feast tonight!”

* * *

The entire temple went into overdrive whipping up a sudden dinner feast for the Nein. They made fruit and veggie dishes that piled high in multiple tiers, and Caduceus helped with some of the cooking to make sure it all came out perfect. Even the bison were not spared a feast of their own, being given piles of specially grown hay, mushrooms, and herbs.

A long table was brought out to sit in the center of the courtyard. Various tablecloths were placed on it, and one in the middle looked suspiciously like a sheet. Every chair in the temple was dragged out, ranging from stools to sofas. The food was placed on a track system that allowed the airbenders to pass along the dishes with small gusts. One had to be quick in their decision, otherwise they'd need to wait until their chosen dish made its way back around.

Master Leylas and her council sat at the head of the table, with the Nein and Essek sitting nearby. Jester had to keep a close eye on Pickles as the baby tried to eat the dishes that blew by. Fjord and Nott looked to be having difficulty catching any food on the track, even with Yasha attempting to slow the speed. Nott ended up with a plate of mashed potatoes in her lap, while Fjord nearly sent the entire tray of peas flying in a half-assed attempt to bend them to his plate using Caduceus's plantbending technique. Caduceus patiently explained that peas probably wouldn't have as much luck responding after being cooked.

“Green beans, on the other hand,” he said happily. “Well, I boiled plenty of those! So they should fare better. Watch!”

The contents of the hot bowl of green beans floated calmly over to Caduceus's plate, water and all. He selected a decent amount for both himself and Fjord before bending the rest gently back into the bowl. Fjord looked absolutely cowed and embarrassed. Nott laughed at his misery, potatoes mush still clinging to her hair.

Beau and Molly were having a miniature food war with the kids lucky enough to sit across from them. Every time the parents looked over, the group looked elsewhere, their spud armies and leek cavalries still sitting on their plates. The parents would glare at them all, but there was little else they could do as the war resumed once they turned away again.

Caleb and Essek sat next to each other, quietly observing the revelry around them. Frumpkin was eating his own gourmet dish at Caleb's feet. Essek could hear the purrs from where he sat. Yasha asked Essek a few bending questions every once in a while, but ultimately remained as silent as him and Caleb.

The feast went on well into the night, and everyone remained in good spirits throughout. Essek found himself enjoying this last night at the temple, and was surprised to find that he was getting rather excited to go on an adventure with the Nein.

“To the Mighty Nein!” Master Leylas declared in a toast. “May they have a safe journey, and may they bring hope and joy to all they meet!”

“To the Mighty Nein!”

Jester leaned over the table, squishing her bison. She stage whispered at Essek, “Hey, Essek! They're toasting you, too!”

Essek sputtered in his drink. “Wh-what?”

Caduceus and Fjord were grinning. Beau, stoic as ever, had her head tilted upward in approval. Molly and Yasha both clapped a few times, Molly whooping. Nott was still drinking from her flask even though the toast had finished at least a minute ago.

Caleb clapped Essek on the shoulder softly. “You have been a good friend to us,” the firebender said softly as chatter rose up again around them. “And an amazing teacher. We all thought that, since you are coming with us, you wouldn't mind truly being one of us.”

“Plus you're totally learning to do the fake bending stuff,” Jester added. “Which is, like, a big requirement if you wanna join anyway.”

“It's a requirement for _benders_ ,” Beau interjected.

“We welcome you with open arms,” Caleb said. “Because, if nothing else, you are our friend.”

Essek felt tears pop into his vision. He blinked them away before they pooled too much. He looked at his new companions with awe. They all had smiles on their faces, ready to do their own toast to his invitation.

Essek raised his glass again. “Thank you, my friends. To us.”

“To us!” the rest of the Nein shouted before taking a swig.

Well, all except Nott, who finally detached from her flask to announce in a slurred and piercing voice, “WELCOME TO THE MIGHTY NEIN!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap!  
> One day I may do a continuation of this AU in a new story. I can't make guarantees, because my writing muse is very fickle, but I am still excited at the prospect of doing more! Stay safe out there, folks, and enjoy the return of Critical Role!


End file.
